


hold your nose, close your eyes, take a drink

by bubblegumkitsch



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Dubious Consent, M/M, Nosh, love potions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-19
Updated: 2013-03-19
Packaged: 2017-12-05 19:28:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/727069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblegumkitsch/pseuds/bubblegumkitsch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh buys a love potion to use on Niall. </p><p>Title from the song "Love Potion No. 9" by The Searchers</p><p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfeMlqS1gZU</p>
            </blockquote>





	hold your nose, close your eyes, take a drink

**Author's Note:**

> Not really dub con but this could be potentially triggering
> 
> Big thanks to Kimmie for all the help :)

This place is not at all what Josh expected. When he’d made up his mind to purchase a love potion, he realized he would most likely have to cross some unsavory paths to get what he wanted. However, as he pushes open the door to the shop, marked simply with a white outline of a heart etched into the glass, he is impressed by how normal it all looks. Truly, from the window, it could be any other trendy Parisian shop, brightly lit shelves filled with what would look like perfumes to casual passerby. 

Josh walks to the counter, pulling the scrap of paper with the information he’d written down this morning about how to go about doing this. He approaches a tall blonde woman, wearing all black aside from a large flashy talisman around her neck that reaches all the way down to her navel, who is standing behind a glass case, sorting through some odd looking leaves and absentmindedly placing them in small plastic baggies.

“Hi,” Josh starts, quickly realizing he’ll need to raise his voice to attract the bored woman’s attention from her work, “Hello! I was told to ask for..um... Madame Rue?” 

The woman behind the counter doesn’t even lift her head as she responds, in surprisingly unaccented English, “Do you have an appointment?”

“Yes. Should be under Josh Devine? One o’clock?”

“Right this way.” The woman sets down the baggie she’d just stuffed full of some gray mossy substance. She walks a few steps towards a door Josh hadn’t even noticed when he first walked in and enters a code quickly onto the keypad lock. He follows her down a stark white hallway for what seems like ages until they reach a small waiting room which looks like one you’d find in any run of the mill doctor’s office. Except that instead of old copies of The Sun or People strewn about the end tables, he sees such titles as Genii, Oracle, and Mind Over Magic.

Josh settles himself into a chair and picks up a copy of Smoke and Mirrors and flips through a few pages, skimming through a particularly passionate op-ed piece debating the merits of whole versus crushed garlic for warding off vampires (the author thinks it’s fairly obvious that crushed is the way to go).

For a moment Josh stops to worry over the fact that he’s the only one in this waiting room. What if this actually was a bad idea? He hadn’t even told any of the crew where he was off to, and honestly, how could he? “What are you going to do on your afternoon off in Paris, Josh?” “Oh, not much. You know, just heading out to buy a love potion to get my best mate to finally sleep with me.”

Instead, he’d snuck out of lunch early, claiming a headache, slipped on a hat and sunglasses, and walked through several alleyways until he’d finally reached the shop. 

He’d researched the place online, finding it had great reviews in comparison to some of the others he’d come across in his search. Several reviewers had even given it five stars, one commenting, “Amazing place! Professional staff, clean facility, and deep roots in the Parisian magical community!”

Josh cringes at the thought of how desperate this all is. But at this point he really has no other option. He and Niall have entered the treacherous but all too familiar friendzone. Although if Josh is honest with himself he’s not even sure if it’s right to call it that. He and Niall are best friends, but Josh has always felt something more. He’s not even sure if Niall would even be up for it. He’s seen him snog loads of girls throughout their time on tour, but who hasn’t? They’ve all got needs.

He’s just unsure of whether he’s been reading too much into things. Each stolen glance held just a beat too long, how Niall will lean in close and whisper even when they’re alone, the countless amount of nights they’d fallen asleep huddled up against one another on a tour bus. 

On the one hand Josh doesn’t want to screw up their friendship by doing something stupid but on the other, he can’t imagine going on like this. No, he has to do something. Maybe it’s weird, but when faced with the dilemma of sneaking off to the bathroom every other night to have a wank, images of his best mate’s back rippling through one of those awful tanks flooding his mind as he reaches climax, or slipping said friend a love potion in one of his pints? Tour has gotten so hectic, he’s honestly not sure which is more deranged.

Josh snaps out of his daydreaming when he hears his name called by a woman who, well, looks exactly how he expected a woman who sells love potions would look. She’s wearing a floor length patterned skirt and has several embellished shawls wrapped around both her shoulders and midsection. Her silver hair spills out in heavy waves from the dark scarf wound tightly around her head.

“This way,” she croaks, her French accent so thick he can barely understand her. Josh follows a few paces behind her as she leads him into a dark room, lit only with candles clumped in the middle of an old circular wooden table. She shuts the door behind him and gestures for him to sit. 

Josh pulls out a chair and sits awkwardly on the edge of his seat while he waits for the woman to gather up her supplies. She shuffles around the dark corners of the room, collecting several empty vials and what appears to be a small dagger with skull on the handle. He hopes that one’s just for show.

The old woman finally sits down and sighs, “I am Madame Rue, one of the last true makers of magical maladies left in modern Paris.” She pauses, looking intently at Josh for a moment before continuing, “and you are Josh Devine of Leiscestershire - ”

“Wow! That’s impressive,” Josh half-laughs, nervous and a little wary of the woman’s gaze already .

“- according to my receptionist, that is,” she continues, eyeing him lazily as she extends a hand to reach for his own. “And what, Mr. Devine, brings you to see me today?”

“I...erm...I think I’d like a love potion?”

“Funny request for a handsome young man like yourself,” she raises an eyebrow at Josh, “But alright then. In order for me to make you the best potion possible, I’ll need you to answer a few questions first.”

“O-okay,” Josh stammers, “Like what?”

“First of all, how long have you known ‘zis girl?”

“Ah. Well that’s thing. It’s not actually a girl. It’s my friend through work. My best friend actually. I guess I’ve known him for almost two years now.”

“Just as well I suppose,” the woman shrugs, “Height and weight?” She clips, pulling out and ancient looking fountain pen, “I’ll need to know that to get the potency right.”

“Um...I suppose he’s around 170 cm? Slight build.”

“That’s fine. And how will you be administering the potion? We can do pills, edibles, or liquid form.”

“Oh, wow, um...I guess liquid is best then.” Apparently potion-making has come a lot further than he’d imagined.

“Alright then,” the woman scribbles some notes down on a pad before standing up from her chair. Josh starts to stand as well but before he knows it, the woman’s firm grasp is shoving him back down into his chair. She hold his head steady and before he can object uses the dagger from the table to slice of a chunk of his hair.

“Hey!” he protests, “What was that for?”

“Well you want the potion to work for you, correct? Unless I actually put some of you in it your best friend will wind up head over heels for the first person he sees after ingesting it.

Josh reaches around the the back of his head to feel the small bald patch she left. “Ok I guess. Is that it, then?”

“Yes as far as my needs from you go. But before I begin brewing do you have any questions?”

“Um, I suppose I should ask how long it’ll last?”

“Typically my brews can last anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours. So it seems I should warn you that this is by no means a permanent solution. A love potion can only do so much if true feelings are absent.”

“Got it.” Josh knew coming into this that a love potion really couldn’t make Niall feel the way he did, but he just had to know what it would be like. To finally feel Niall’s lips against his own, to feel Niall wanting him as much as he has always wanted Niall. If only just once. The rest of the boys had fooled around with each other when they’d had one drink too many, and Harry and Louis were even pretty open about the fact that they mess around behind closed doors. Why shouldn’t Josh get his shot?

“I should have this ready for you within a day or so, will that be alright?”

“Perfect.” He can’t believe he’s actually about to go through with this

“Good. You can pay and give your information to Michelle at the front and we’ll have it delivered to you as soon as possible. You may see yourself out now.”

“Thanks,” Josh whispers as he closes the door behind him. He makes his way back to the store where he settles the bill and signs a surprisingly normal looking receipt. Should he tip for a love potion? He adds a few figures to the total just to be sure.

And just like that he’s back on the streets of Paris, the city of love, appropriately enough. He walks through the city, taking in the sights and smells undisturbed until he reaches the hotel where he’s greeted with the typical screeching and shouting of teenage girls.

The next day passes excruciatingly slowly. The boys have got interviews most of the night so Josh decides to use his time to do some much needed grooming. He knows he’ll have the cushion of the love potion and all but there’s no way he’s going to do anything with Niall if he’s not at his best. 

He hopes the potion will arrive before the tomorrow night because he’d been hoping to use it at the party they were all set to go to. Some birthday of one of Harry’s friends. How he has friends posted up in Paris is still unclear.

He’s hanging out in his room with Niall and Louis when the parcel comes. He’d gone to use the bathroom when there was a knock on the door. Louis had answered and accepted the package, eyeing the man clad in a floor length black cloak suspiciously before finally taking the plain cardboard box. 

“Josh?” he called through the door, “I think you’ve got a package. Strange bloke. Strange package really? What’s this say? ‘Love Potion - Josh Devine.’”

“What?” Josh swings open the bathroom door having barely zipped up his trousers first.

“Looks like someone’s got a secret admirer...” Niall teases from where he’s lying on his stomach, hanging over the edge of the bed playing video games.

“Wow. We’ve gotten a lot of strange stuff sent to us but never anything like this! Wouldn’t drink this one if I were you, Josh.” Louis shoves the package into Josh’s arms.

He’d hoped the shop would have been a bit more discreet than to label the contents of the package across the top of the box but at least the boys hadn’t thought anything of it.

“Yeah, weird.” Josh tosses the package aside and sits back down on the bed, pretending to care about the FIFA match in which Niall and Louis are now engrossed. They hang out for a few more hours before Niall and Louis excuse themselves to their respective rooms to grab dinner and get ready for the party. Josh is too nervous to even join them to eat. 

He opts to stay in his room and carefully inspect the contents of the package which he had been too petrified to open while the boys were around. He rips through the brown paper enclosing the cardboard box. When he cuts through the tape holding down the flaps of the box he’s surprised to see a small, single vial of a clear liquid nestled amongst a sea of packing material. Is this it? It’s so much tinier than he was expecting, which could actually work to his benefit. It’ll be easier to conceal in the pocket of his jeans when he goes out tonight. He places the vial into the drawer in the bedside table before throwing out the rest of the box.

Josh spends the rest of the evening carefully preparing himself for the night to come, physically and mentally. He spends far too long fixing misplaced hairs in the mirror and psyching himself up for the fact that tonight he would finally get to know what it was like to be in Niall’s arms.

Before Josh knows it, it’s 9:30 and he figures he better get going. He’d agreed to meet a few of the boys in the lobby so they could take a car to the club together. Harry, Liam, Niall, and Josh all squeeze in the back of a black town car together, pressed tightly up against one another for the twenty minutes it takes to get to the party.

Once they all enter the club, mostly everyone parts ways, each of the boys going in one direction or another to greet friends, take photos, grab a drink. Josh immediately heads towards the bar. He’ll need a drink first to work up the nerve to do this. He orders himself a beer and chugs nearly the whole thing before he feels a warm hand slap him on the back.

“Weyhey!” Niall laughs, “save some for the rest of us.”

Josh coughs, nearly choking on his last swig of beer. “Sorry, man, I don’t know what’s come over me!”

“No, worries! You know I’ve been there m’self! How ‘bout another round?”

“Uhm sure.” Josh knew he’d be doing The Deed soon but now that the moment was approaching, his hands are turning clammy with cold sweat. Niall orders them another couple of beers and thanks the bartender as he hands one to Josh. Niall smiles before taking a huge gulp of his own drink. 

After a few moments, a shy looking girl comes up to ask Niall for a picture. This is Josh’s chance. His heart starts beating quickly, seemingly attempting to break free of his ribcage as he reaches into his pocket for the vial. With Niall distracted, putting his arm around the girl to pose for the picture, Josh struggles to uncork the bottle and empty the contents into the glass. He is barely able to shove the vial back in his pocket and take another large swig, finishing his drink, before Niall turns back in his direction.

“Sorry about that! You know how it is.”

“Haha yeah, no problem, mate!” Josh laughs nervously as he watches Niall reach for his drink. Niall chugs a bit of it before sitting down on a barstool.

“You alright, mate? You look a bit green.”

“‘M Fine!” Josh squeaks, while in reality he’s not feeling so great, riddled with what he assumes to be nerves. “Just drank that last one a bit too fast, I suppose.” Josh orders himself a water and sips on it carefully, trying to get rid of the butterflies in his stomach.

Within a few minutes he’s feeling loads better. He has no idea why he was ever so nervous in the first place. He’s given Niall a love potion, there’s no way he’ll say no! Confidence building in his chest, Josh decides to test the waters. “Hey, Niall. Let’s dance! It’s been a long week and I really need to let off some steam.”

“Great!” Niall perks up, swigging the last of his beer and setting the glass on the counter, “Let’s go.”

Josh grabs Niall's arm in a rush of adrenaline and hauls him to the dance floor, Niall giggling behind him as he struggles to keep Josh’s pace. They reach the center of the club, bodies packed and sweaty on all sides, but all Josh sees is Niall. 

Watching Niall move with the beat, wiry shoulders glistening with sweat, Josh feels a surge of desire. He looks Niall straight in the eye and is met with a flirtatious wink. It must be the potion doing its magic. Unable to take the tension any longer and feeling safe that the bodies on all sides of them would serve as good enough cover, Josh turns around and pushes his back against Niall. He glances back to gauge Niall’s reaction.

Niall raises an eyebrow but doesn’t back away. Instead he grinds his hips even closer up against Josh. Shit. Josh really likes the way their bodies fit together. They dance like that for a bit, pressing their bodies closer and closer as the heat between them becomes unbearable. Josh breaks away for a moment to turn around and face Niall.

He hooks his hands around Niall’s neck and settles a knee squarely in between Nialls legs as they both sway into one another. Feeling Josh’s leg grinding in between his own, Niall throws his head back and laughs in delight. Taking Niall’s exposed neck as an invitation, Josh dives straight in, sucking a bruise onto the sensitive skin until he has to come up for air. 

“Fuck, Josh.” He barely hears Niall’s whisper over the music.

“Wanna get out of here?” Josh breathes into Niall’s ear, lips grazing his earlobe, and is that his imagination or did Niall just shiver?

Niall stares at Josh curiously for a moment before pushing their mouths together. Niall kisses Josh hungrily, tongue exploring the inside of his mouth for god knows how long before breaking it off wetly. “Yeah, let’s.”

Josh grabs Niall’s wrist and leads them both out of the club as fast as he can. Somehow they manage to hail a cab back to the hotel. It’s all a blur of hands and lips and hair pulling in the back of the taxi until they arrive in front of the hotel. They pull apart hastily as they exit the cab, nearly sprinting through the revolving doors. 

When they finally make it back to Niall’s room they are barely through the door before Josh has Niall pinned up against the wall, grabbing a fistful of hair before looking into Niall’s incredible blue eyes. This was finally happening and Josh could not contain himself any longer. He tugs Niall’s lips towards his own and his tongue is in his mouth again. 

Overtaken with the need to have all of Niall at once, Josh runs his hands up and down Niall’s body, exploring his biceps, the curve of his lower back, and finally reaching down to run the heel of his hand over Niall’s trousers. Niall’s hips jut forward involuntarily and Josh can already feel a bulge through the fabric. The thought of Niall getting hard from Josh touching him has Josh dropping to his knees to undo the zipper on Niall’s jeans.

He’s never really done anything with a guy before but he needs to have Niall so badly right now he doesn’t have time to stop and think this through. He hurriedly shoves Niall’s trousers and boxers down to his ankles, hearing Niall laugh incredulously above him.

Josh takes Niall in his mouth, and Niall groans slipping down slightly, then throwing his head back and arm across his face as he tries to steady himself up against the wall. Niall tastes better than Josh could have ever imagined. Josh sucks cautiously for a moment, hoping Niall is enjoying this as much as he is. When Josh runs a hand up under Niall’s shirt to play with one of his nipples, he hears Niall gasp, bucking his hips forward and forcing more of himself further down Josh’s throat. 

“Fuck! More, Josh,” Niall pants heavily, the hand covering his eyes swinging out to scrabble at the wall.

Josh looks up from Niall’s cock for a moment to glance at his face. Niall looks so perfect like this, his normally light blue eyes dark with yearning. Josh concentrates on opening up his throat to allow more of Niall in, relaxing a bit so Niall could push further and further into Josh’s now slack mouth. 

Josh’s eyes are watering but he doesn’t care. He pulls off to gasp, “Go ahead, just, do it,” and grabs his arms, getting Niall to thread his fingers through his hair. He lets his mouth go slack and gazes up at Niall earnestly, and Niall groans as he steadily fucks Josh’s mouth. He sighs when Josh finally pulls off of him, covered in his own spit and Niall’s precome and gasping for air.

Josh licks his lips and picks Niall up from where he’d been leaning against the wall and throws him down on the bed.

“I can’t believe we’re really doin’ this,” Niall huffs out as Josh hovers over him.

“You and me both,” Josh whispers, pinning Niall even further down on the bed. It’s Niall now who reaches to unzip Josh’s jeans, fumbling with the zipper until Josh finally breaks away and sheds them on his own, quickly throwing them aside and straddling himself over Niall again, feeling his own cock already hard and pulsating, even more so now that Niall’s own is brushing against it. 

Niall tilts his hips up, rubbing himself faster and faster against Josh until they’ve gotten a hardy, steady rhythm down that leaves them both close to coming. Josh reaches down and gives Niall a few quick tugs before he feels him release all over his hand. “Jesus, Josh,” Niall sighs, dropping his head back on a pillow, “Who knew you could do that?” Josh begins to raise himself off of Niall to wipe off his hands.

“Wait,” Niall lifts his head up from the pillow frowning, “come here.” Niall gestures for Josh to come closer. Josh grins, leaning in and running his tongue along Niall’s jawline towards his ear before Niall breaks away. “Not what I meant...”

Before Josh can question him, Niall grabs his arse and pushes Josh’s hips towards his mouth. Josh grips the headboard, trying to keep himself up as Niall takes almost all of Josh’s cock down his throat in one swallow. Niall sucks lazily after that, taking his time to run his hands all up and down Josh’s backside, leaving scratches along his lower back as he pulls himself closer and closer to allow more of Josh into his mouth. 

After Niall pulls himself off of Josh with an obscene popping noise, Josh knows he’s close. Niall moves one of his hands from where it had been squeezing Josh’s arse to stroke him vigorously until finally Josh comes, releasing messily onto Niall's lips. 

Josh falls back onto the bed with a soft thud, exhausted and elated, but more than a little bit sad that this would all be over soon. Everything would go back to normal with Niall and this would all be considered just another hazy drunken hook up. As he lays there looking at the ceiling, Josh feels his heart rate return to normal for the first time since he’d finished his drink earlier. The world had been a fuzzy pink haze but now, Niall breathing deeply by his side, reality sets in and his vision is clear again. At least, even if it was just this once, Josh knows how it feels to have Niall want him.

“What’s gotten into you tonight, Josh?” Niall asks and rolls over to throw an arm across Josh’s chest, fingers tracing a pattern through the hairs spread there.

“I don’t know, I just - couldn’t resist you, I guess,” Josh shrugs. It’s not like Niall will remember this anyway. Isn’t one of the side effects of love potions memory loss?

“No but seriously man, earlier, when I was taking that photo with that girl. What did you put in your drink?”

“Wait, what you mean in my drink?” Josh immediately sits up, looking down at Niall with a furrowed brow.

“That little bottle of stuff you poured in your beer?” Niall continues, “I figured it was drugs, which I didn’t realize you were into, but you seem pretty normal. Other than being extraordinarily horny, I suppose. A little surprised you didn’t offer me any. Sort of thought you might be holding out on me.”

Realization suddenly dawns on Josh. Shit. Perhaps he should have been paying more attention to whose glass he was actually putting the love potion in instead of staring at how dangerously close that girl was coming to grab Niall’s arse. Had he really been stupid enough to put a love potion in his own drink? But...Josh’s breath catches for a moment. That would mean...

“Oh, that was nothing,” Josh struggles to find a plausible explanation, “just a new diet supplement thing I’m trying out. Wait, so you actually wanted to fuck me tonight?”

“‘Course I did, Josh, dunno why it took you so long to see it!” Niall laughs, pulling him down for another kiss. Josh’s breath catches, and when he pulls back to breathe, Niall wiggles his eyebrows at him. “Up for round two, or are you just gonna sit there?”

Amazed at his luck and feeling significantly less guilty for having only effectively tricked himself into sleeping with Niall, he allows Niall to roll on top of him again, soaking in the fact that he could have Niall without help from any silly love potion.


End file.
